Thursday 28th November

This week we took a different grown up with us to forest school. As Diane hadn’t been for a long time the children explained the rules and how we keep ourselves safe at forest school. We also mentioned our forest school visitor and explained that Steve the robin is extremely friendly. As the words left our lips, guess who arrived? Yes, Steve and Stevie made an appearance! Diane was amazed and even managed to get really close herself.

Look at how close one of the children got to to Steve!

The rest of the day was spent exploring and having adventures. The ground was very frozen and one of the children realised that they could walk straight across the swamp which is usually inaccessible. Some of the children followed but then the ground started to thaw. Suddenly, the mud appeared and the children’s feet began to sink down. Quickly, we all managed to get ourselves onto the embankment where we stood looking at the quickly thawing swamp. Maybe we will try a different route next time!

Thursday 21st November

This week a new group of children began forest school sessions. As we waved our minibus off, we talked about how to keep ourselves safe in the woods. The children knew all about brambles, nettles, and staying to the correct side of the path. We headed into our forest school site and were hopeful we would see our little robin friend, Steve. Sadly, there was no sign of Steve. Nevertheless, the children got busy. We had den building, balancing activities and again lots of imaginative and creative play.

Not long after the children began working, we spotted a familiar face…. Steve was back! He happily bounced along the branches of the trees observing the children as they played. As lunchtime arrived, one of the children was amazed to see that Steve wanted to sit just above his head. He really is a very friendly robin.

This group of forest schoolers are showcasing their amazing skills in negotiating, communication and confidence. The children have enjoyed exploring the space and engaging with the environment. From minibeast and squirrel spotting to working out how to climb over fallen branches, we had it all at forest school this week.

Tuesday 19th November

This week was fire week at forest school. It was a rather cold day so we started our day with hot chocolate or warm milk and a snack to keep our tummies nice and warm. It was then onto building our fire. For some of the children, this was their first experience of fire and they were very excited! Jen built our fire and explained to the children how we use small pieces of wood to get it started and then use the larger pieces as it becomes more established. We then set to work making our lunch. The children ate cheese toasties and yummy beans and rice pudding for afters. The cheesy toasties were a roaring success and everyone devoured them (even the grown ups). Well done Jen, best toasties ever!

Tuesday 12th November

As we arrived at forest school we were confronted with a huge pile of chippings and a construction vehicle. The children wondered what might be happening. We spotted someone wearing a hi visibility jacket and asked him if he knew. He explained that his job that day was to renew some of our forest school paths. Another man jumped on the machine and drove into forest school giving us a little ‘toot toot’ as he left. He was quite fast and we couldn’t keep up so we looked at the tyre marks the machine had made. Suddenly we spotted something fly beside us. It was small, brown and red. You guessed it. It was Steve! He must have heard us and came out of our site to see us. He happily sat on the top of trolley as we headed into our site.

We talked about what we wanted to do that day and decided we should go on an ADVENTURE! We left our equipment on our site and headed up the huge mountain. It was really hard work but we persevered. Eventually we reached the top. We listened to the forest around us. It was quite loud with lots of bird song. Steve followed and sat with us. We moved on as we attempted to find another route to our site. One of the children thought we could move down the far side of the mountain. It started to get rather swampy but we managed to navigate our way to the wooden bridge which a previous group of children had made. With a little help, we all managed to cross safely.

After lunch we explored our site. As usual Steve watched on as the children investigated the fallen tree and the den. Our den is now a chip shop and a house offering a plethora of imaginative opportunities.

Can you spot Steve?

Tuesday 5th November

This week the children were excited to visit forest school and see if our little friend was waiting for us. As we walked into our forest school site, sure enough, there was Steve the Robin waiting for us. The children said good morning to him and he sang us a beautiful song. We set up our camp for the day and got to work. Some children decided to play on the fallen tree which is providing a plethora of imaginative experiences. It has been a plane, a car and a boat to name a few. This week it was a see-saw which the children loved to bounce up and down on, giggling as they did so.

Jen’s group decided to create their own interpretation of a robin using natural materials. Using leaves and sticks they thought about what a Robin looks like and what shape and colour it is. The end result was amazing!

One of the children was truly amazed by Steve and decided to follow him. Steve happily hopped from tree to tree chatting to the children. He is now a major part of our day and he loves nothing better than sitting with us for lunch. The children found some worms for him to eat which he gobbled up. This week Steve introduced us to one of his friends, another Robin who the children have affectionately named Stevie. The children think that Stevie may be Steve’s wife. She is not as sure of us as Steve is but she happily sat in a tree watching and waiting for us to finish our lunch.

At the end of the day, it was time to say goodbye to the wonderful woodland, Steve and Stevie. The children invited Steve back to nursery but he decided to stay. Keep your eyes peeled next time you are in the woodland. You never know Steve may pay you a visit!

Tuesday 22nd October

This week saw a new group of forest schoolers venture off into the deep, dark woods. The children were so excited as this was, for some, their first time at forest school. We began as usual identifying any challenges we may face that day such as brambles, dogs and of course the swamp! The younger children listened implicitly as the older children supported them with how to move through the forest, which path to take and where to stand when dog walkers pass. They relayed their knowledge throughout the day, demonstrating that they are true forest school professionals.

It was a beautiful day at forest school and the children got busy almost immediately. The practitioners were able to stand back and observe every child engaged in play. Some children were developing the den further by adding more and more sticks whilst others attempted to climb the tallest trees. Some children have discovered what can only be described as a minibeast city inside a log and spent the morning observing them moving around.

Of course, the day would not be complete without a very special visit from Steve, our friendly forest school Robin. He was waiting for us to arrive and once we were there decided to stay with us for the day. He happily walked amongst the children and even sat with us for lunch. Sadly, at the end of the day, the children had to explain to Steve that he is unable to get on our minibus and come back to nursery but we would be back soon to visit him. So long Steve, we will see you soon!

Thursday 10th October

As we walked along the track to our site we were confronted by a HUGE footprint. We wanted to work out just how big the footprint was, so we firstly tried to measure it with the children’s feet. The footprint was still bigger. The grown-ups then tried their feet but the footprint was still bigger! The children then tried two feet and it was still bigger! The children surmised that the footprint was made by a giant. We would have to use our sharp eyes to spot the forest school giant.

We were so surprised as we entered our site to be met with our little Robin friend. He is so friendly and came very close to us (Jen even managed a robin selfie). When we sat for lunch, he brought his little family to meet us. Lisa shared some information with us about robins. We were surprised to learn that robins prefer to sleep on the ground and that through the winter they come together and roost with other birds to stay warm. 

 The rest of our day was spent exploring the forest, spotting squirrels (we still haven’t spotted a deer yet) and spotting mini beasts. Before we knew it that time had come and it was back to nursery on our minibus with a lot of children having a quick power nap on the way.

Thursday 19th September

This week we headed into forest school and we were excited to see how it had changed over the week. We looked up at the trees and spotted lots of leaves changing colour. What was happening? One of the children pointed out that the leaves are falling off the trees whilst another explained, that is because it is Autumn time.

Courtney checked to make sure that our forest school site was safe and once checked, we headed inside and we were shocked at what we discovered! There, in the middle of the nest we made last week, was an egg! The children were thrilled and noticed that the egg was beginning to crack. What could be inside? Some children thought it might be a bird whilst others thought it could be a dragon. At that moment, we spotted our little Robin friend swoop down and stand right beside us. He spent the rest of the morning popping back and forth to check on us. 

We had two special activities this week. Kirsten had planned to create natural paintings and Courtney had planned nature crowns, both using natural materials to create something special. The children were intrigued by the activities on offer and wanted to get involved. The children crushed ferns and added water to soil to create their own paints as well as hammering flowers and berries onto their material to create the most beautiful natural paintings. The other group foraged for pieces of sticks, ferns and leaves which were attached to paper to create crowns. 

After lunch, it was time to explore. The children enjoyed moving around our site, adding to our den as well as creating our own structures. Imagination and creativity was definitely the order of the day. We hope our little Robin friend will rejoin us again next time. 

Thursday 12th September

As we ventured into the forest the children had a clear idea of what they wanted to do that day. The plan was to search for bugs, however as we arrived on site, Courtney spotted something truly amazing! We thought it may be a mushroom but it was shaped like a flower. Tara wondered if we might be able to look underneath but how could we do that as it was so close to the ground? Kirsten had a super idea and pushed our iPad as close to the mushroom as possible and we were amazed by what we were able to see underneath. The children chatted about what it looked like. We were now on a search for not only bugs but mushrooms as well!

 The children started to explore the area when we spotted a little visitor. It was a robin who sang us a beautiful forest song. It was a very friendly robin and some of the children decided to build a nest for him. He looked thrilled. The other children explored another area of our site where they discovered a tree with lots of twisting vines around it. We spotted little holes and something sparkly lying on the ground. Could this be the home of some magical creatures? We wondered what sort of creatures may be living around us. There were lots of wonderful ideas!

 After lunch, the children continued with their morning activities whilst another group of children began exploring sticks. They were fascinated by how tall the sticks were and a discussion ensued about who had the tallest stick, who had the shortest, what sticks could be used for and whose stick was taller than the grown-ups. Some of the sticks were really long and were definitely taller than the grown-ups. The time flew by and before we knew it, it was time to head back to nursery. We hope the little robin will visit us again next week.

Thursday 8th August

This week’s forest school was all about exploring! The children are now becoming more familiar with some of the areas we work in and this week decided to spend their morning working beside the ‘big stone’, a place the children love to climb and jump from. On the way the children found sticks and stones to create drawings in the mud and along the ground. We drew our names, animals and lots of wiggly patterns.

This week we met some very friendly dogs along the way and we talked about how to keep ourselves safe. The children have learned to step back and allow the dogs past and we also talked about crunching down low, making ourselves appear smaller to help support any dogs who are feeling a little nervous being around us. There was however, one very friendly dog called Daisy who loved strokes and cuddles from the children. 

In the afternoon, the children decided to work on our forest school site which is hidden away from the path. Everyone got busy either adding to the den, looking for minibeasts or balancing along the huge fallen branches.

Last week, one of the children decided he wanted to attempt to climb the huge hill (the mountain in his eyes) at the back of our site. He stood at the foot of the hill and gazed upwards. The adult asked if he wanted to attempt the hill this week and of course he did. The group wanted to attempt the climb together. We knew it would be tricky so we followed one of the grownups who showed us how to side step along the thinner areas, balance with our arms out and knees bent. We carefully meandered along the path and up the bank. As we climbed, we looked back and saw just how high we were. We kept up the pace and before we knew it we were at the very top and looking down at our forest school site. We had made it and the happy smiles on the children’s faces showed just how proud they were of themselves!

Thursday 1st August

This week saw a brand new group of children visiting forest school and wow were they excited! We began by talking about what we may see and this group were excited to see minibeasts and squirrels and hopefully a bear or a rhino. Sadly we didn’t spot any bears or rhinos but we did see lots of minibeasts from bees to woodlouse, spiders to snails, they were all there!

Our day was spent exploring our site. The children used their observational skills to spot slugs, snails, strangely shaped stones and sticks. There was den building galore as we added to the previous groups den work where we created a doctor’s surgery. We talked about how to stay safe on our site and why we all stay together. At the end of the day, no one was ready to leave. We had enjoyed our forest school picnic and wanted to continue with our exploration. We talked about what we would like to do next week and one of the children decided he is going to climb to the top of the mountain at the back of our site. Watch this space! We might just do that!

Monday 22nd July

This block of forest school sessions has yet again come to an end and to finish our time at forest school we cooked on our open fire. The children are complete professionals now when it comes to fire week and know how to start a fire, keep themselves safe and put out a fire. They are also the best chefs and prepare the tastiest pizzas ever! With a choice of toppings, the children got to work. Firstly, they spread out the tomato base before adding cheese followed by an array of yummy toppings. We had ham, mushrooms or sweetcorn to make our pizzas extra special. We all enjoyed the pizza that much, we had to cook another full round.

 After our pizza it was time for pudding. Again, it was one of our favourites – rice pudding. This time we added some blueberries and they were delicious! Just as we began to eat our pudding, the rain came down. We raced to the big shed where we could eat our rice pudding, staying warm and dry. Sadly, the grownups were not so lucky and had to tidy all the food away and wash the dishes. Luckily, the children stayed inside and had a lovely story about a slug. As soon as the dishes were clean, the sun came out and we could water the polytunnel. The plants really did need a big drink!

Monday 15th July

This week, the children chose to work in the same area as our last visit. Last week, we focused our attention on dinosaurs and this week we discovered something else living in our forest school. One of the children discovered a circular pattern on the ground. This could only mean one thing…there was a blue and white python with chicken shaped, hypnotising eyes! This was serious! As we were so close to lunch time the children decided to set traps around our tarpaulin so we would be safe. We began to collect ‘yoga’ (ogre) sticks which we piled together to create huge traps for the snake. We then listened. We could hear the hissing sound of a snake but we knew it wasn’t going to get past the traps. We were safe for now!

 After lunch, we headed into our site and discovered a huge number of snails and slugs. The children began to make small enclosures for them. We even found a big snail with a baby snail attached. We wondered why there were so many snails and slugs. They clearly like living in our forest school. The children really wanted to cross the wobbly bridge and get across the swamp but it was so wet and we couldn’t find a safe place to cross. We eventually decided it was much safer to stay on the firm ground and take care of our snails and slugs. We kept a sharp eye out for any deer but sadly we did not see any this week. We headed back to the nursery and chatted about our day. Would the snake make itself known next week? Who knows? We will be keeping a sharp eye on any rustling bushes that is for sure!

Monday 8th July

This week at forest school, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the children were excited to spend their day in the woodland. We enjoyed working in the sunshine until a strange noise silenced us. It was a strange, screeching sound. One of the children thought it may be a pterodactyl! Could you imagine? The children’s play soon changed to chasing dinosaur games which they thought was hilarious. The children planned to build themselves a fire which would act as their power source. Imaginative play was definitely the main interest all morning!

 Some of the children enjoyed watching the butterflies whilst other decided to dig holes and make marks along the ground. We spotted lots of interesting items hiding in the grasses and bushes. One child found a snail shell whilst another found an interesting looking rock.

In the afternoon, we planned to find out where the shrieking sound had come from. We headed into our site and up the hill. We soon discovered a huge nest in the top of a very tall tree. The grownups knew who this nest belonged to but the children enjoyed trying to guess.

The nest belongs to a sparrowhawk which we have spotted several times however on this occasion the children thought the bird had gone to the seaside for some fish (because birds love fish you know!). In order to get back to our camp, the children had to practice all their balancing skills which they have developed over the last year. It was arms outstretched and bent knees as we walked down the bank. The children amazed us yet again as each and every one managed to walk down the embankment without falling or slipping (we can’t say the same for our preschool grownup Kirsten but she is still practicing her balancing skills).

Monday 1st July

This week at forest school we decided to walk straight to our usual site. We were amazed to find that our site was quite overgrown and some of the plants were almost as tall as us! As we arrived, we discovered something quite amazing lying on the floor. Tara wasn’t sure what it was and asked for the children to help her identify this strange object. It was a bluey-green egg-shaped object. The children immediately identified it as a bird egg but what sort of bird egg? We were intrigued and decided to venture further into the woods to see if we could spot anything which may give us a clue. We could see some footprints on the floor and were quick to point out that these were deer prints. But deer don’t lay eggs!

Once in the middle of our site, it was time to investigate and get busy. Some children decided to add to the existing den , some decided to go on an adventure whilst the others decided to engage in some bug and bird spotting. There was a lot going on! Lisa’s group managed to spot our resident sparrowhawks which delighted the children whilst Tara’s group found some minibeasts which included the longest worm we had ever seen! Kirsten’s group got busy finding a safe place to house their egg before helping to add to the den.

 After lunch we spotted a little visitor. A huge slug had decided to sit on our tarpaulin and was refusing to move! The children decided to try and feed it. We firstly attempted breadsticks but that was a no. Then we tried leaves but still the slug was not interested. The children thought he may just be tired so we retired him to a cosy stick whilst we tidied up. It was time to leave our beautiful woodland for the day. We will be back though and we hope our sluggy friend will be waiting for us!

Tuesday 25th June

Where has the time gone? We have already reached fire week! As our fire pit is based on our allotment, we took the time to look around and we discovered some rather amazing (and strange) things going on. Firstly, we decided to do some pond dipping and were amazed to find lots of newts and rather tiny little frogs hopping about. Tara allowed one to sit on her hand so we could all take a closer look. It really was tiny! Then we took a look around our allotment and to our amazement discovered that something had been digging in our vegetable beds and taken some of our potatoes! Who could it be? What could it be? We thought about the type of animals who may like potatoes and we had lots of thought. We thought it could be potato burglar or maybe a fox! We then started to search around the allotment for other signs of stolen vegetables but we found nothing. After a little watering and weeding, we made our pizzas and enjoyed our lunch. Delicious!

After lunch, it was time to tidy. Lisa began to place the tools into the shed when we heard a scream! She had discovered a nest in our shed and the bird inside decided to fly right past her. We investigated by being very quiet and now we hope we have some bird eggs safe and warm inside our shed (don’t worry, the Mummy bird can get in and out as she pleases).We will keep be keeping a close eye and will keep you updated. 

Tuesday 4th June

This week saw a new group off to forest school. The children decided that as they are professional forest schoolers, that they would like to go on an adventure. We headed into forest school and came to a fork in the path. As usual, the children chose which way they would like to go and off we went. As we walked along the path, we spotted many squirrels playing in the trees. They all looked very happy as they jumped from branch to branch. We started to head down the path towards the river and on our way discovered the path was littered with leaves of all shapes and sizes. We began to pick up the leaves and look at all the differences and similarities. Some were big, some were small, others were pointed whilst others were wavy. We started to collect one of each. We then discovered the leaves came in all different colours and we talked about why that may be.

 As we headed down the path, we met lots of friendly dogs and their owners. Of course, we showed the dogs how sensible we are by moving to the side of the path to let them through but not before giving a little wave to say hello!

As we moved on, we discovered lots of different objects on the floor. There were large sticks, flowers, seeds, seed cases and feathers. We decided to pick some up to explore. One of the feathers was huge but who could be the owner of the feather? On our adventure we came to a little bridge where the children carefully took it in turns to cross. Again, we met a very friendly dog who was very excited to be beside the water but the children remembered to stand to the side and allow the dog to pass. Well done forest schoolers!

 We decided to have some lunch and just as we finished, the rain came down. We didn’t mind, we found a huge mound of earth which we enjoyed finding different ways to climb. We won’t let the rain dampen our spirits!

Thursday 30th May

Where has the time gone? We had already reached fire week after some amazing sessions at forest school. As soon as we arrived, we began prepping for our fire. The children were asked what is needed to start a fire and they were not short of ideas. We placed our kindling and tinder into the fire pit and started our fire. The fire grew very big, very quickly and before we knew it we were ready to start cooking. We talked about the different colours we could see in the fire and what this meant. One of the children pointed out that the middle is the hottest part and the white bit means it is ‘super-hot’.

Our lunch was garlic bread, tuna and cheesy pasta with custard and peaches. The children were very excited as they knew that this team of grown-ups are the best at making garlic bread! The garlic butter looked amazing as it sizzled in the pan. We then added the bread and very quickly it was all ready. The children tried it and we had comments of “that is the best in the world” and “the grownups are the best chefs”. Needless to say, the garlic bread disappeared very quickly! We then cooked our cheesy tuna pasta, followed by custard and caramelised peaches. Delicious!

After lunch, we still had plenty of time so decided to do some work on our allotment. We planted, watered and re-potted some of the growing vegetables. We then engaged in some weeding and watering before we left for the day.

Thursday 16th May

This week the children were all extremely excited to visit forest school as they had concluded last weeks session with a plan to return to the stream. The only difference was this time they planned on taking all of their clothing and shoes ready for a great day splashing. All week we have kept our fingers crossed for the lovely spring sunshine to still be with us however today it was a rather cloudy and dull day with the odd spring shower. Although it was dull, we did not let the weather deter us and the plan remained the same, we would be visiting the stream.

On the way to forest school, there was lots of chatter and excitement as to what the day ahead would bring. Once at the forest we were immediately aware of the peaceful aura around us. As we headed down the hill and into the forest we noticed two things, firstly there were no other people around and secondly although it was lovely and peaceful, the forest was filled with noises and movements.

The children decided to follow the path, using their senses to explore the nature around us. We spotted lots of different types of birds, all singing their beautiful songs from up high in the trees as well as several grey squirrels who were running up and down the trees then jumping from tree to tree. We also heard lots of unusual sounds and the cracking of sticks breaking underfoot. This sparked the children to share their creative and imaginative ideas. Could this crunching simply be a deer or could it be the cracks of a tiger looming ever closer. Maybe a bear could be stumbling around searching for a cool cave to sleep in. Who knows but let’s keep our eyes peeled!

Lunch time was growing closer so the children voted on where to make our site for lunch. With the majority voting to head to the orange river over the bridge we set off. The children with support from Kirsten, Lisa, and Tara decided to sit on the big sloping steps opposite the orange river for lunch. This was a great spot as it was very tranquil listening to the river flowing, however there was a very strong smell coming from the river! During lunch, the excited chatter continued regarding splashing in the stream and thankfully after lunch the sunshine came out ready for us to get wet!

We headed down to the stream and the children wasted no time getting their swimming things on and waded into the chilly water. There was lots of laughter to be heard as the children had fun splashing each other, chasing each other around the stream and even sitting down and ‘swimming’.

We have all had such a lovely day and were really pleased the sunshine came to play too.

Thursday 9th May

This week at forest school the weather was beautiful. As we arrived and headed down the bank, the children spotted lots of different colours littering the forest floor. Numerous colourful flowers have begun to bloom. The children used their sharp eyes to see how many colours they could spot. We spotted yellow, white and blue flowers as well as lots of interesting leaves and plants.

We had a very special surprise visit from Jessie, Lisa’s dog as she was going for a walk in the sunshine around the burn. We gave her a gentle stroke and even had a few kisses in return.

The children demonstrated their skills in negotiation as they decided between themselves the plan of the day. Would it be a lovely walk in the sunshine or visit a little stream and explore the local surroundings. With a 7:5 vote, the plan for the day was to explore the stream. Once we got to the stream the children helped to create a site by laying down the tarp ready for picnic lunch. When our site was ready we safely stored the trolley and headed along the stream to see if we could stop the ducks. Unfortunately we didn’t see the ducks today however the children did use their sharp eyes to spot many strange and unusual footprints. This encouraged the children to share rich and meaningful conversations and also delving deep into their imagination. Some thought the prints could be from a dog but others looked closely deciding it may have been a tiger who was prowling in the woods looking for some food and a place to stay. One idea was that the tiger was camouflaged and hiding in the nearby ferns or stream. Others thought the prints could be from some deer or a horses hoof. This encouraged the children to look around the nearby ground and they soon spotted more footprints. We began to wonder if the deer had been jumping over the stream to find food and water.

After lunch some children decided to explore the stream by removing their socks and shoes and venturing out into the cold water. One by one the children became more confident as they explored into the water. Some children enjoyed walking all around the stream, while others stayed at the sand area splashing with their peers. Some children stayed dry on the sand and chose to use their fingers and sticks to create numbers and shapes.

It was a great afternoon exploring the stream and engaging in rich conversations, the children decided next week at forest school they would like to come back to the stream and do engage in some “swimming”. Next week we plan to be more prepared by taking towels, swimming clothes and swim shoes ready for a fun, wet day. Let’s hope this beautiful spring weather continues.